Hydrops triangularis

Hydrops triangularis
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Hydrops
Species:	H. triangularis
Binomial name
Hydrops triangularis (Wagler, 1824)
Synonyms
Elaps triangularis Wagler, 1824 Hydrops triangularis bassleri Roze, 1957 Hydrops triangularis bolivianus Roze, 1957 Hydrops triangularis fasciatus Roze, 1957 Hydrops triangularis neglectus Roze, 1957 Hydrops triangularis venezuelensis Roze, 1957

Hydrops triangularis, commonly known as the water false coral snake, the triangle water snake or triangle watersnake, and the water coral, is a species of snake in the subfamily Dipsadinae of the family Colubridae. The species is native to northern South America and the Amazon Basin. There are no subspecies that are recognized as being valid.

Geographic range

Hydrops triangularis is found in Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Colombia, Brazil, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and northern Bolivia.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of Hydrops triangularis is freshwater wetlands in forest and savanna, at altitudes from sea level to 500 m (1,600 ft), but it may also tolerate brackish water.

Description

Hydrops triangularis reaches a maximum size of about 78 cm (31 in). It has smooth dorsal scales, which lack apical pits, and are arranged in 15 rows throughout the length of the body.

Diet

Hydrops triangularis feeds on eels (especially synbranchids) and other freshwater fishes (especially elongated species).

Reproduction

Hydrops triangularis is oviparous.

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1894). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume II., Containing the Conclusion of the Colubridæ Aglyphæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xi + 382 pp. + Plates I–XX. (Hydrops triangularis, p. 187).
• Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (Hydrops triangularis, p. 100).
• Wagler J (1824). In: Spix J (1824). Serpentum Brasiliensum species novae ou histoire naturelle des espèces nouvelles de serpens, recueillies et observées pendant le voyage dans l'intérieur du Brésil dans les années 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, exécuté par ordre de sa Majesté le Roi de Baviére. Munich: F.S. Hübschmann. viii + 75 pp. + Plates I–II, IIa, IIb, III–XXVI. (Elaps triangularis, new species, pp. 5–6 + Plate IIa, [figure 2]). (in Latin).
• vi + 354 pp. + one plate. (Hydrops triangularis, new combination, p. 170). (in German and Latin).